Eldoret Woman Finds Missing Child
A mother from Eldoret was overcome with emotion in court as she finally reunited with her six-year-old son, who had been missing for over a year.
The little boy had been living with a woman in Nyamira County, who confessed to purchasing him for Sh30,500 last year.
Monica Kwamboka stood before Principal Magistrate Kesse Cheronoh, desperately asking to be released so she could bring in the woman who sold her the child.
The boy was taken from his home in the Langas informal settlement in Eldoret on May 16, 2024, leaving his mother, Abscondita Azenga, in deep sorrow.
“It has been a harrowing year searching for my child. I have not slept, not rested—but today, I thank God he is finally in my arms,” said Azenga, her voice trembling. Upon seeing her mother, the little boy collapsed into tears, refusing to leave her side.
The prosecution had initially suggested that the child remain in a children’s home in the city until a DNA test could verify his biological mother. However, the magistrate could see the child’s pain as he desperately clung to Azenga, refusing to be apart from her. When asked to point out his mother, the little boy’s small finger confidently directed towards her.
With tears streaming down his face, the boy shared the horrifying experience of his abduction. “They covered my mouth and eyes. I couldn’t even scream for help,” he recalled.
Kwamboka confessed to purchasing the child after the heartbreaking loss of her only son to illness. She shared that after being left by her husband and living in solitude, she longed for a child to nurture. In her desperation, she even tried to pass the boy off as her own using a forged birth certificate.
“I bought this boy because I had no children in my previous marriage. My husband drove me away, forcing me to return to my parents’ home. I had nowhere else to turn,” she told the court, her voice heavy with regret.
The prosecution requested that DNA tests be performed at the government lab in Kisumu County. Kwamboka didn’t object to the tests and expressed a desire to bring the mastermind behind the child-selling ring to justice. The magistrate then ordered that DNA tests be conducted on both Kwamboka and the biological mother.
In the meantime, the boy will be staying at a rescue center in Pioneer Estate, where Azenga will have unrestricted access until the results come in. Kwamboka, on the other hand, will remain in police custody at the Langas police station until October 29, when her case will be brought up again.
Eldoret Woman Finds Missing Child
